Listen to the Rhythm of My Heart
by TuscanyRose
Summary: 'He looks simple, a bit out of place at the special occasion, and the tap he gives Kurt's shoulder is so soft he could pass it off as a touch by someone in passing, but he turns anyway;he certainly doesn't expect Sebastian to be standing there, looking like he's actually nervous to talk to him.' After a run in with Sebastian at graduation, Kurt's life alters. 3x22; AU. Kurtbastian.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello, everyone. This is my first fanfiction, and it was sort of a heat-of-the-moment sort of thing. I plan on continuing it, but it depends on what kind of response I get, so tell me what you think in your reviews.

**Pairings: Kurtbastian, Short Brachel, St. Berry**

**Rating: T+**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee on FOX or any familiar characters, Ryan Murphy does.**

**Story title from '_I Believe In a Thing Called Love_ ' by _T__he__ Darkness_****_._**

**__****__****__****__****__****__****_Takes place_****__****_- 3x22 Goodbye_**

Enjoy.

* * *

It all starts at graduation.

Kurt doesn't understand _how _it happened, let alone _why_, because up until then he was pretty sure the smirky Meerkat was done with the New Directions and everyone in it; Sebastian had done a fairly well job at showing them all that he was moving on from his wicked ways of the past and everyone who had been involved in it. And yet, there he was, looking much like Kurt on his first spying day in Dalton, sticking out like a sore thumb in the arrangement of graduation robes and fancy dresses coordinated with smart suits, all worn specially for the exciting occcasion; where as he's taken on a look of of a blue polo(_with that damn popped collar, _Kurt thinks) and a dark pair of fitted jeans. He looks simple, a bit out of place at the special occasion, and the tap he gives Kurt's shoulder is so soft- so _shy_, which shocks Kurt more than Sebastian himself- he could pass it off as an accidental touch by someone in passing, but he turns anyway, expecting Mercedes or someone coming to give him a hug; he certainly doesn't expect _Sebastian_ to be standing there, looking like he's actually _nervous _to speak to him.

It's all such a surprise to Kurt that he doesn't even think about how this is the moment that will change his entire _life_ and give it a future full of _Sebastian _and Autumn days and lazy Sunday mornings spent baking recipes from his mother's cookbook(something he's certainly never done with _Blaine_, as in, _ever_). He doesn't register the fact that this is the first time Sebastian's ever looked nervous or out of place, because the shock has hold on him that way. So, of course he doesn't notice the way his heart beats just that much faster or his consciense screams, _'This is it, this is that moment,' _because that's the way it usually goes for humans.

But, even so, this is still that moment, and it's just as life changing for Sebastian as it is for Kurt.

* * *

Kurt's frozen, literally _frozen _in place at the sight of Sebastian, far so that he can't even seem to form any acceptable type of greeting, so there's a long pause- a very long, very _awkward_ pause, because this is the moment that is going to change _everything_ between them- before Sebastian gives Kurt an awkward kind of half-smile and says, quite slowly, "Um, hello."

It's even weirder after that, because all Kurt does is stare, wide eyed with his mouth slightly ajar, and needless to say, this isn't making Sebastian's job any easier.

When Kurt's silent for a few seconds too long, Sebastian speaks again. "Look, I know this is kind of...weird- me showing up here-, but-"

And that's as far as he gets, because before he can get another word out of his mouth, Kurt's shock has wore off and he's giving Sebastian his best Bitch glare, so Sebastian doesn't need to be telepathic to know what Kurt's thinking.

"Sebastian, _what the hell?_ What are you _doing _here?"

Sebastian sighs, and Kurt hears how tired and really _lonely_ it sounds. He softens his gaze a bit and watches Sebastian scrub a hand over his face and- _wow _are those _bags _under his eyes? How long has it been since Sebastian's slept a reasonable amount of time? Something tells him it's not graduation parties keeping the ex- Warbler from sleeping. The Warbler's graduated weeks ago. Kurt knows because of Jeff's consistant Facebook posts of him and Nick in Madrid for the summer. So why is Sebastian here, looking like Death itself, instead of somewhere across the globe in another one of his twenty minute relashionships or getting drunk off his ass?

Something in Sebastian's eyes tells Kurt it's because of _him_.

Sebastian just stands there and looks at Kurt, as if he's looking at the thing he's worked so hard for, but isn't sure he wants anymore. Kurt shakes his head internally, because Sebastian doesn't want _him_, but he obviously wants something if he's here at his graduation looking like one of The Walking Dead.

Finally, Sebastian speaks. "Look...I...I know we were sort of...mortal enemies or something but I... Look, Kurt...here."

He hands Kurt a blue strip of paper that fits perfectly in his palm. He eyes it carefully and looks back into Sebastian's drained emerald eyes. "What's this?"

Sebastian just sighs again and he looks so damn _tired_ that Kurt just wants to get him some of the cookies the PTA are giving away and pull him into a hug, but he doesn't, because this is _Sebastian_. They're not friends, Kurt doesn't even know Sebastian's _middle name, _so hugging the boy seems a little too personal, even though Sebastian looks like he needs junk food and sleep ASAP. So Kurt settles on looking at Sebastian with wide crystal eyes until he explains._  
_

Sebastia throws his eyes to the sky briefly when he realises Kurt wants an explaination, though he doesn't exactly have one. Kurt watches as the tall boy speaks with as much ease as he can- even though the nervousness is still there. "_Jesus_- Kurt, I... Look, if you're ever in New York, or, I don't know, _wherever_ you are, and you need some..confiding in and all that crap just...just call me, okay, Hummel?"

Kurt's too shoced by the fact that Sebastian's actually just called him by his actual names to say anything, or process the fact that Sebastian's just gave him permission to call him for _confiding_ purposes- whatever the hell _that _means- so he just nods dumbly.

Sebastian gives him one parting nod, and then he's gone.

Kurt spies the blue strip of paper still sitting in his palm, before unraveling it slowly, as if dealing with a bomb, and reads its text.

_ 619-332-7946_

_ ~Smirky Little Meerkat~_

Kurt laughs despite himself, because even when Sebastian looks like death warmed over, he still manages to be a complete smartass.

"What's that?"

Rachel's curious voice startles away all thoughts of Sebastian as he fumbles to put away the piece of paper.

"It's-uh, it's nothing," he lies. "Just my Dad's new phone number. He dropped his old one in the sink at home."

It's a terrible lie and he knows it, but Rachel's still running off of her graduation high so she just buys it, taking his hands in hers.

"Well come on, then! 'Cedes is looking for us."

And then he's being dragged off with Rachel, barely given three seconds to shout a goodbye to his Dad and Carole before Mercedes has the two of them in the backseat of her Volvo, and they're off to the Gleeks' Graduation Party at Breadstix.

Needless to say, the night brings too much fun for him to worry about Sebastian's wrecked look at graduation, or what that piece of paper in his robe's pocket means. The whole time at Breadstix is spent eating every dish they never got to try-because it'll be years until they get the chance again- and singing and yelling until the owner politely kicks them out.

The rest of them finish the night at Santana's house(where she breaks out the hidden booze her brother keeps in his closet) and when they're both reasonably drunk, Kurt and Blaine hitch a ride from Tina to Blaine's house, and by the end of the night, all thoughts of Sebastian's surprise appearance are long forgotten.

* * *

A/N: So, there's the first chapter. What do you guys think; should I continue? Tell me in your review!


	2. Chapter 1

~A/N: Hello, everyone! I am seriously blown away by the response that last chapter recieved. I wasn't expecting such a positive reaction, and I am pleasantly surprised by the number of reviews and follows _LRMH _has gotten. This story is currently **_without a Beta _**so I apologize for any errors you may find. This chapter is took me a while to get it the way I wanted it, so I hope you enjoy it. It may seem sort of _Klaine-Central _at the beginning, but trust me, it's a short-lived experiance. I meant for this to be longer, but I got blocked at the end and decided to just make a seperate chapter. Enjoy.

**Pairings: Kurtbastian, Short Brachel, St. B****erry.****  
**

**Rating: T+**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee on FOX or any familiar character. However, I do own the plot.**

**Warning****s: Mentions of sexual interaction, Slight character bashing, Minor Klaine. ****_If any of these things don't go by you well, don't read._**

* * *

Kurt's first month of summer vacation passes in a blurry compilation of preperations for New York, phone calls to and from his fellow Glee Club Members- who have already spread out in their respective places throughout the states, despite there being two more months until classes regularly begin- and time well spent with his father and Finn and Carole. Blaine seems to make himself scarce during this first month, probably wanting to remain as far away from anything related to New York or Kurt's upcoming departure as he can. Kurt undertsands Blaine's need to hold on to normalicy a bit longer before he completely grasps the fact that Kurt is _leaving, _and they're going to spend an entire _year _apart, so he doesn't question it, nor does anyone else. They simply accept Blaine's slight denial of his boyfriend's future and wrap up the packing so he can return.

Kurt is internally grateful for the day that Blaine _does _return, about 5 weeks into vacation, when all of the tossing and boxing and fussing is over and done with. His room is completely bare now, save for the cluttered boxes laying around on the floor and in the corners. When Blaine sees the bare walls that day- after sitting through a football game with Burt and Finn, Kurt perched snugly on his knee, messing around with a new app on his phone- he simply stops and stares.

It's strangely surreal to Blaine, for some odd reason. Part of him suspects it's because this is what his life is bound to be when Kurt is gone- bare, stripped of personality and fun-, but another part tells him that it's because this is really it; this is what his boyfriend is taking with him for next year, and not being in one of those boxes, not being part of Kurt's _plans, _scares the hell out of him.

It's painful, seeing packed boxes all taped up and piled up. It seems like suppresesed memories to Blaine, but it _shouldn't_- at least not this _soon. _

Kurt stands in the doorway and watches his boyfriend take in the white walls and packed boxes with a comptemplating look on his face, noting the way Blaine's posture is visibly stiffer than it had been downstairs, the way his stormy hazel eyes look cold and indifferent.

He takes a step foward and calls for Blaine's attention, waving him over when he recieves it. "Come on, Blaine," he says softly. "Let's go to your place."

And that they do. Blaine seems more comfortable in his own room, where the walls aren't bare and the memories are still on display; Kurt doesn't question how soon their close are shed and how needy and desperate Blaine is in bed.

It's been a long month, after all.

oOoOo

It's a Wednesday when Kurt comes across a certain blue strip of paper for the second time in two and a half months. The weather outside is treacherously hot and humid, and not at all appropriate for his typically preferred attire, so the day finds him lounging around his house in red shorts and a thinnning McKinley Titans t-shirt. It's too hot to do anything useful in Kurt's opinion(and apparently Finn's too, as he's sprawled out on the living room floor, continuously dying on the first level of Temple Run, muttering something that vaguely sound like, "_Fucking zombie dogs."_ at the screen), so Kurt decides to pop in a movie to block out the sound of Finn's obvious grumping over his failure in the world of phone gaming- yet he turns down Kurt's suggestion to just _pick a different game, goddammit_- and also await Blaine's arrival that is scheduled for later that evening. He settles into the couch to get comfortable, deciding to lay on his back with his feet hanging over the armrest, and sits quietly as the opening credits of _Burlesque_ began.

Burt finds them both in that exact same position when he gets home from work early two hours later. The movie is nearing its end and Kurt is watching it with a look of both boredom and irritation(he's seen te movie _a million _times, and he _still _doesn't understand why Cher's awesomeness was not showcased with Christina's in the last number. It's stupid and maybe a little childish, but it just _pisses him off_). Finn is still on his phone, though he's switched to Angry Birds. He's just as terrible at it as he is at Temple Run, but he manages to kill at least two of the pigs in each level, so he continues on._  
_

Burt takes in the sight with apparent amusement in his eyes. Finn and Kurt's relationship now is a great contrast to what it used to be; partly because Kurt had given up his_ ridiculous _crush on Finn Junior year, and partly because of Finn's homophobic ways' disappearance. Seeing the two boys coexist so easily is an odd mixture of amusing and heart-warming to Burt, so much that he actually laughs.

This gets the two boys' attention. "Dad," Kurt says cheerily, swinging his legs from the armrest and back to the ground. "How was work?"

"Hey, Burt," Finn supplies, not even looking up from his game of Angry Birds.

"Hey there, Finn," the older man sets his keys on the hook by the door and removes his cap to wipe some sweat from his forehead. "It was fine, bud. Just a little hot. Blaine called, says he'll be over at 6."

Kurt nods, noting that he has thirty minutes until the younger boy arrives. "And my Navigator?"

"Oh!" Burt's face lights up in recognition. "There was nothing wrong with the motor brakes or anything, and your battery has been recharged. Your gas and everything works fine, so its in good condition to make the drives to New York for you. But, I found this in there. I guess it fell out of a pocket or something."

Burt pulls out a small strip of paper from his pocket, and, despite having forgotten all about the event in which he got it in, he recognizes it instantly.

I blue strip of paper, with Sebastian Smythe's phone number scrawled across it, right above the smart-ass nickname Kurt had granted him with. His father hands it to him with a somewhat knowing look.

"Do you want to tell me about this '_Smirky Little Meerkat,__'_ Kurt?"

Finn's head snaps up at the mention of the name, having had heard Kurt complain about how cocky and _damn irritating _he was, and he had learned about him from the whole photoshop fiasco. He just hasn't expected to talk about him after graduation, or even _before _that. He opens his mouth to say as much, but one sharp nod from Kurt shuts him up.

Kurt looks at the piece of paper, now crumpled and faded in his hands. The words are still visable, as is Sebastian's number, but what he really can't read is _Sebastian _himself. Before graduation, he had been so sure Sebastian either still despised the New Directions(or _Nude Erections, _as he'd once called them) or didn't find them worth his time after the David Karofsky incident. Seeing this piece of paper reminds him of how confused Sebastian has made him with just this one little thing, and also of the fact that he hasn't spoken to David- his supposed _friend _who just happened to be _in love with him_- in a long time, not even after his new school had let out. He feels guilt and confusion whirl inside him as he looks back at his father and says, firmly, "No."

His father just gives him an over-used _I-don't-believe-you-but-you'll-tell-me-when-you're-ready _smile and throws his hands up in mock-surrender. "Alright, kid. Don't shoot. I was just wonderin'. But, just to make sure, it's not someone you're..._interested _in like that Chandler kid, right?"

At this, Kurt snorts out a bubble of laughter because _that _is the one thing he's _not _confused about in the slightest; Sebastian simply is not interested in Kurt and vice versa- they've said as much to each other's faces before. Kurt is almost fully convinced that Sebastian giving him his number was either a drug induced act of stupidity or a complete prank, and if he were to call that number, the headmaster of Dalton, or someone equally embarassing would answer and he'd be stuck in a whole new bubble of humiliation for thinking he could call _Sebastian _of all people, for 'confiding,' or whatever Sebastian had called it that night.

"No, of course not," he replies through another snort. " I am _not _interested in Meerkat faced jackasses. Besides, I'm with _Blaine, _dad. And for the record, I was never interested in Chandler. It was the other way around and _completely _one-sided."**  
**

"Mmhm." His dad just waves him off, as if he doesn't believe him. "Whatever you say, bud. Carole will be home around the time Blaine gets here. Don't blow up the landline before they arrive."

To which Kurt shreiks, "I do not _like _him. We're not even _friends, _or _allies. _He's worse than Puck, Dad, _seriously_!"

"What's wrong with Puck?" Finn asks dumbly, not at all getting the point.

They both ignore him. "Whatever you say, son." Burt is halfway up the stairs by then. "Like I said, don't blow up the landline!"

Kurt scowls and his father's retreating form and turns back to the paper, ignoring Finn's prying look(no doubt he'll be getting pestered by Rachel about this in no time, if she and Finn are still in contact after that day at the train station). He thinks about his father's words with a frown; He's not sure if he really _does _even want to call the number. There's the ever-there possibility that the number probably isn't even Sebastian's, and it's not like Kurt has any real _reason _to call him; he's not in New York yet, and he's not troubled, so there's no need to '_confide' _in someone, as Sebastian had said. But Kurt has this strange suspicion that that isn't what Sebastian meant when he'd told hin to call.

_Of course it is, _Kurt scowls at himself. _He's just probably pulling some prank if it isn't._

Kurt repeats this in his mind seven times before looking at the paper, frowning at it, as if it's _the paper's fault _that he's so confused, as opposed to the person who had granted it to him

Kurt would very much like to frown at him, too- maybe even yell.

It's just a stupid piece of paper that had fallen out of his robe pocket when he picked up his car after the Glee party, and Kurt's starting to feel a little silly for being so hung up on it.

But he still has to tell himself that it doesn't matter seven more times before he runs up to his room(ignoring Finn's shout when he jumps over his game of Angry Birds)and stows the piece of paper into an already-full box of crap he'd filled up just a few days ago. He pushes it farther down into the box than necessary, and then tapes the box back up, locking away the memory of Sebastian and his _stupid piece of paper._

He shoves the box into a corner with his foot and checks his watch. Five minutes until Blaine's arrival.

Kurt spends the next five minutes packing an overnight bag.

Because he is not staying here with that fucking phone number taunting him when there is wonderous, stress-relieving sex to be had.

Needless to say, Kurt doesn't sleep in his own bed that night; no, he's draped over Blaine, breathing in his warmth and trying his damned best to forget about Sebastian.

He wonders why he doesn't feel fantastic when he does.

* * *

~A/N: Okay, there's that chapter. I am not impressed with this chapter, as I really wanted it to be longer, but I am proud of it nonetheless. Please do tell me what you think in your review. Here's an offer; **_The best review gets a sneak peek at the next chapter. _** I hope that's a good offer. I'm used to doing this, as it forces me to right more to back up the scenes I let you read. I might do this at random times in the fic, so just take it as a token of my gratitude. Again this story doesn't have a Beta so if there are any painfully obvious mistakes that irk you, do tell. I edit and reread every chapter of any of my stories a lot before I publish, but if I missed any, I give to you my sincerest apologies.

**_Review. :)_**


End file.
